The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for reproducing a video segment for a digital video cassette recorder (DVCR), and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for rapidly reproducing a video segment recorded in a recording medium when the DVCR operates in a variable speed mode.
Generally, in a DVCR which uses data compression, a head can read data of an entire track and data of each track are continuously restored during a normal reproduction mode. During a variable-speed or high-speed reproduction mode, however, the complete reproduction of data is impossible since the head passes neighboring tracks and reads only a portion of the compressed data of each track instead of reading an entire track precisely.
For this reason, a standard for processing signals in a DVCR has been proposed in which video data is arranged hierarchically, i.e., in DCT blocks, macro blocks or sync blocks, super blocks, and segments. Also, a track format is to be decided such that basic picture information and the remaining high frequency signal can be demodulated and decoded in a variable-speed reproduction, and data of a desired track or location can be easily accessed by control of a servo.
However, the conventional technique has significant drawbacks in that it is practical only at speeds lower than a predetermined speed level and errors occur due to the difficulty associated with controlling a servo during a reproduction procedure beyond the predetermined speed level.